Best steel for blades?

J

Jaben620

Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Messages
40
Im a noob.:D

What steel is considered the best knife blade steel? Who uses the best steel as far as commercial knives?
 
I think the problem is many will give different answers. Ultimately depends on final use of the blade in question
 
gibbleguts said:
I think the problem is many will give different answers. Ultimately depends on final use of the blade in question
Click to expand...

Thanks for being the only adult that has posted so far.:thumbup:

I want steel that takes an edge like a champ and is super tough for the hardest jobs.
 
I think that for the money it is hard to beat the RAT rc4. It is made with 1095 steel, which does rust but if used and oiled it will not hurt it. The good thing about 1095 steel is that in the field it sharpens very easily, If you want to drop a little more money Busse and Fuhrman both make very stout knives. But the steels are harder to sharpen so take that in to consideration. Take a diamond sharpener with you in the field and I think you would really dig the Fuhrman. But I have a RAT rc4 and think it performs great.
 
Jaben620 said:
What steel is considered the best knife blade steel? Who uses the best steel as far as commercial knives?
Click to expand...

For a small production knife, Fallkniven's SGPS/3G is the best I've used. Spyderco's CPM-M4, 52100, S90V and ZDP-189 are also really amazing, but they were not in production knives (Mules).

Buck's S30V and 154CM/ATS-34 are really good also. Paul Bos sure knows how to heat treat them. Too bad the blades outlasted the handles.

That said, most production knives have the steel hardened on the soft side.
 
If your sharpening skills are not real good 1095 carbon steel, Queen or Great Eastern has some nice knives. Case's CV gets sharp and its easy to maintain too. If you are looking for a tactical type knife Spyderco has some real sharp knives out of the box. Some of the better steels in stainless are vg10,ats-34,154cm,s30v,440c in no particular order. Each steel is a compromise, some or harder to sharpen, some chip easier, some are able to perform with a thinner edge. I am not an expert, but from what I have learned is that there really isn't a best steel.
 
also Bob Dozier makes an awesome practical knife made of d2. But not all D2 is the same, but his is highly regarded as the best, or right up there with the best.
 
kurt6652 said:
If your sharpening skills are not real good 1095 carbon steel, Queen or Great Eastern has some nice knives.
Click to expand...

1095 is not any easier to sharpen at the higher rc's. At lower rc's (like 58-60) it's easy to sharpen but edge retention is below average. Edge retention is incredibly good at 62-65 though.
 
RC of 62-65 is not good for chopping, batoning, or light prying because it is to brittle. 1095 is easier to sharpen and handles chopping, batoning, and light prying. The RC 62-65 are better suited for folders or kitchen knives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top